Social Media And Drinking Habits

The article “Why the Drinking Age Should be Lowered: An Option based upon Research” is about twenty years of research based underage drinking done by Ruth Engs. It talks about the way things were in the past compared to how things are now. The research done for this article shows that binge drinking is mostly found in the age below 21 due to the lack of being taught responsible drinking habits. In this article there are many statistics dealing with drinking at a college level over a long span of

Some people think that with the age limit being so high, it makes teenagers want to drink and party in an attempt to be more rebellious. They call it “taboo allure”, and believe that it actually raises the drinking rate(Why 21? A Look at Our Nation’s Drinking Age). As most people know, teenagers will do whatever it takes to get under their parents skin. This means, partying, drinking, smoking, drugs, running away, ect. These are all issues that we see just about on a day-to-day basis. But in comparison to all these issues, how bad could drinking really be? Many people think that if you are mature enough to buy a house, take out a loan, vote, or

Is the media’s portrayal of adolescent drinking accurate? Yes, it is. To many individuals, Alcohol is only a drink, but it is a lot more than that, it's an addictive drug. 60% of young adults have tried alcohol earlier than the age of 14, and the numbers of under aged drinkers is rising. Adolescents begin drinking for a lot of reasons - given that they are bored, due to peer pressure, and quite simply because there is nothing else to do. The national Drug research Institute observed females aged 14 to 17 have been worse abusers of alcohol than 18 to 24-year old guys. In other records, it suggests that eighty percent of under 18-year-olds drink, 50 percentage binge drink. Also around 10 percent of 12 year olds drink.

The question, "Is alcohol advertising the cause of underage drinking?" seems to flow through the minds of many American families. The answer to the question largely depends upon the families view on drinking in general. Some homes encourage drinking every once in a while, for social purposes; while others condemn it all together. The topic is very controversial with several factors weighing in such as religion, family background, and health. Despite the differing views, statistics have shown that underage drinking has reached a new height this past year. What is the cause of this rise in adolescent

Many teenagers who had their first drink by the age of 15 is more likely to becoming addicted to alcohol than someone who starts drinking at the legal age of 21(cdc). Different teens drink for different reason, many teenagers are admitted into rehab for underage drinking. The ones that make it out that is, many teenagers who drink young and don’t get help die. Recently a 16 year old boy died from taking 24 shots at a party and no one wanted to take him to the hospital because of being scared of getting in trouble.

Drinking is something done universally. It can be done socially or obsessively. Even though the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA ) in the U.S. is 21 and it has been that way since 1984 young adults still continue to drink. They know it is illegal and they know that they could get arrested, the thing is they also know that in other countries the MLDA is lower, it could be anywhere from 19 to 16. This can be hard for young people to wrap their heads around. The fact that they can vote and go fight in wars yet it is illegal for them to get a beer with friends. All of these things aside it is still unhealthy and potentially unsafe.

Consuming alcohol at 18 years of age can interfere with the development of the young adult’s brain and studies show “physical changes in the brain and evidence of impaired problem solving and other cognitive functioning”. This results in influencing the child’s ability to reach their full educational potential. An article from Oct 2015 ‘15 Shots of Vodka Killed Our Daughter’ by Andrea Todd explains the death of 17 year-old Shelby Allen and is just one example of the influence alcohol has on young adults. Shelby was at a party where she and her 18 year old friends had decided to take shots. Her friends state that they wanted to see how many shots it would take for them to pass out. Eventually 15 shots later, Shelby’s body was unable to comprehend the toxicity of the alcohol and had died. This article is just one of the many stories where young adults are clearly unaware of the dangers of alcohol and its alarming consequences. Through surveying different age groups of societies we were able to identify that young adults where greatly more unaware of the health problems associated with consuming alcohol rather than adults. This alone indicates that older adults of 21 years and over have better knowledge on the dangers of alcohol and its impacts. The need to increase the drinking age to 21 years of age is indicated through health studies,

Children tend to absorb the contents with a sense of judgment. This is because their curiosity sometimes leads to terrible consequences, in this case, the addiction to alcohol. “A national study … concluded that greater exposure to alcohol advertising contributes to an increase in drinking among underage youth. Specifically, for each additional ad a young person saw … he or she drank 1% more. For each additional dollar per capita spent on alcohol advertising in a local market … young people drank 3% more” (Alcohol Advertising and Youth). Therefore, the commercials do have a great impact to the number of drinking adolescents, since the number of underage alcohol consumption rises as advertisement rates rise. If such commercials continue to display on the media without any types of appropriate-content filters, the number of teenage alcoholics will continue to rise as years pass by. As a result, we must greatly reduce the number of commercials referring to alcohol products, to minimize the possibility to create future drinkers under the legal age.

Drinking when you’re a teenager may affect how you deal with your emotions. When moving into adulthood a teenager is going through many phases and issues. Without your proper emotions it would be hard to understand what you are going through. Also, a teenager’s immune system is not prepared for the effects of alcohol. If a teen waits for later when their immune system is developed they will handle alcohol better whereas, if they drink during teenage years their minds will not be focused and could affect their daily life. Media and peer pressure is also forcing teenagers to drink. Majority of teenage drinkers are pressured if we increase the drinking age to 21 teenagers will not be pressurized and they will be mature enough to make their own decisions. According to pbskids.org “Adults have lived longer, and so they are supposed to be better at making decisions and judgments, like whether one has had too much to drink. Young people may be more influenced by alcohol advertising, and might be quicker to let the media influence their decisions about drinking.” (It's My Life. Body. Alcohol. Your Questions | PBS Kids GO! (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2017, from http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/body/alcohol/article8.html). As shown by PBS Kids adults have set themselves for a healthier future by not drinking at a young age. Overall, drinking at a young age can have terrible long-term effects and it

Those in favor of lowering the drinking age also claim that social norms play a major role in perception of alcohol, which is believe to end in the justification of binge drinking. Key social constraints such as community acceptance and perceived influence of the political power of the alcohol industry that work to divert attention from commercial sources of alcohol for those that are underage. Other social aspects of the cultural and policy environment in communities affect the issue of alcohol use in youth. Exposure to billboards, magazines, and

Media has a lot to do with adolescent substance abuse. Many times in advertisement, adolescents see people drinking alcohol and having a great time. Media spends over $25 billion dollars on advertisement yearly. Many celebrities are seen smoking or drinking alcohol in movies, TV, and on commercials. This makes adolescents think that drinking, smoking, and taking drugs are cool and will make them popular. Over 5000 deaths yearly are caused by alcohol consumption. (Strasburger, 2010)

Simon Sinek stated almost every alcoholic discovered alcohol when they were teenagers. When we are very young the only approval we need is the approval of our parents and as we go through adolescence we make this transition where we now need the approval of our peers. As seen in the picture two phones which he keeps checking constantly because he is waiting for an approval of a friend or something on social media that will make him feel good but since he can’t find it through the phone, alcohol, gambling comes next. It’s a highly stressful and anxious period of our lives and we are supposed to learn to rely on our friends.

Exposure to alcohol advertising is an everyday occurrence. Alcohol advertising is persuasive not only to adults but to those who are too young to buy alcohol legally. Although parents and peers have a large impact on youth decisions to drink, marketing also has a significant impact by influencing the attitudes of parents and peers and helping to create an environment that promotes underage drinking. Alcohol companies focus billions of dollars on advertising their products and still claim that the effect is minimal. I pose a few questions that are; who are the targets of alcohol advertising? How does alcohol advertising affect the people targeted by alcohol companies? Finally what actions are being taken to

Social media gives the impression that alcohol usage is normative among young individuals. Adolescents may develop a perceived social norm of alcohol use among peers of varying ages because ages of individuals on social networking sites vary greatly. In an experiment conducted by Dana M. Litt and Michelle L. Stock, they examined the roles and impact of social networking sites perceived social norms of alcohol usage of adolescents. Their results show

     Teenagers and young adults are constantly bombarded with alcohol. From the funny beer commercials with the beautiful women who drink and from